Hicks: Eddie Murphy and Spike Lee to make Marion Barry film.

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Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, second from right, leaves court with his son Christopher Barry, far right, after a federal judge rejected a bid by prosecutors to revoke his probation for failing to file his taxes on time, in Washington, Thursday, June 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Murphy may play the former Washington D.C. mayor in an HBO Films movie, directed by Lee and written by John Ridley. All three would serve as executive producers, according to multiple media outlets.

Barry, who was mayor of the city from 1979 to 1991 and from 1995 to 1999, made headlines after he was caught on videotape smoking crack in 1990. Which, as you may or may not know, isn’t exactly legal. Which is why he served six months behind bars.

Barry then made an unlikely political comeback and remains popular in D.C., being dubbed “Mayor for Life” by the Washington Post.

D.C. journalists Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood have been tapped as consultants — “Dream City,” their 1994 book about D.C. politics, is among the source material the creators are eyeing — as have Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, the filmmakers behind the 2009 documentary “The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.”

Barry has a fascinating history, including an extensive background as a Civil Rights activist. While on the city council in 1977, he was shot attempting to defend the District Building from radical Black Muslim terrorists. Barry took a bullet near his heart during a tense, two-day hostage crisis that was finally defused by the FBI and ambassadors from Muslim countries. Even before his arrest in 1990, he was dogged by stories of cocaine use and infidelity.

This is where we don’t speculate on how Murphy might prepare for the role.

HBO officials would not comment. It’s not the first time the network has considered milking the Barry drama: In 2002, filming was reportedly due to start on a movie starring Jamie Foxx and written by Chris Rock that somehow never happened.

A rep for Barry said he did not know about the latest project and had no comment.